Teen Suspect Arrested for Shooting That Left Two Dead in Kenosha, Wisconsin

Teen Suspect Arrested for Shooting That Left Two Dead in Kenosha, Wisconsin
A man is being shot in his arm during a protest following the police shooting of Jacob Blake, in Kenosha, Wis., on Aug. 25, 2020. Brendan Gutenschwager/via Reuters
Zachary Stieber
Updated:

A 17-year-old male was arrested in Illinois on Wednesday for a deadly shooting that took place in Wisconsin.

The teenager, a resident of Antioch, was taken into custody on a charge of first-degree homicide, the Antioch Police Department said.

Officials are working on extraditing him to Wisconsin to face the charge.

“Our Village of Antioch is deeply saddened by all loss of life. Our hearts and prayers extend to the friends and family who lost a loved one,” said Antioch Mayor Lawrence Hanson in a statement.

The people involved in the shooting were part of groups taking part in “illegal activity” after the start of the nightly curfew," Kenosha Police Chief Dan Miskinis told reporters at a press conference.

“The result of it was: two people are dead,” he added. “This is not a police action. This is not the action of those, I believe, who set out to do protests.”

He said he didn’t know what led to the disturbance, and whether both deaths were related to the same person.

The name of the alleged shooter was not released. The deceased weren’t identified apart from being described as a 26-year-old Silver Lake resident and a 36-year-old Kenosha resident.

Information from the Lake County Circuit Court showed the shooting suspect is Kyle Rittenhouse. He has a court date on Aug. 28 on the extradition status.

The brief document says the defendant fled Wisconsin after being charged with homicide “with the intent to avoid prosecution for that offense.”

The court described the teen as a “fugitive [from] justice.” It said Rittenhouse was being represented by a public defender, who was not named.

A man is wounded amid rioting in Kenosha, Wis., on Aug. 25, 2020. (@Louriealex/Instagram via Reuters)
A man is wounded amid rioting in Kenosha, Wis., on Aug. 25, 2020. @Louriealex/Instagram via Reuters

The alleged shooter told Richie McGinniss, a Daily Caller reporter, prior to the incident that he was out and about because “people are getting injured.”

“Our job is to protect this business,” he said, standing outside a boarded-up building that was set on fire the night before. “And part of my job is to also help people. If somebody’s hurt, I’m running into harm’s way,” he added. “That’s why I have my weapon, because I need to protect myself obviously, but I also have my med kit.”

A Facebook profile showing the alleged suspect, which was taken down, shows him posing with the same gun he appeared to be carrying. He had a number of pro-police postings on the page.

Video footage captured late Tuesday in Kenosha showed several people attack a man with a rifle. The man was taken to the ground before firing several shots. At least one of the people he shot appeared to be armed. Other clips appeared to show the man shooting another male in the parking lot of Car Source, a dealership, prior to the other confrontation.

The shooting took place in the area of 63rd Street and Sheridan Road, the Kenosha Police Department said.

Two people died from gunshot wounds while a third was rushed to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

Detectives were still working on obtaining the names, ages, and cities of residences of the victims, a police statement said.

Anyone who witnessed the shooting was asked to call the police.

Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel earlier Wednesday that one person who died was shot in the head while the other was struck in the chest.
A rioter tosses an object toward police during clashes outside the Kenosha County Courthouse in Kenosha, Wis., on Aug. 25, 2020. (David Goldman/AP Photo)
A rioter tosses an object toward police during clashes outside the Kenosha County Courthouse in Kenosha, Wis., on Aug. 25, 2020. David Goldman/AP Photo

Beth said at least one person would be arrested soon, because of the video footage that clearly captured the shooting.

“I feel very confident we’ll have him in a very short time,” Beth said, adding that local officials were receiving help from the FBI.

Riots exploded in Kenosha, on the shoreline of Lake Michigan between Chicago and Milwaukee, on Sunday night, following the non-fatal police shooting of Blake, a man wanted for sexual assault who allegedly showed up at a woman’s house and took her keys.

After struggling with police officers, the man walked to a vehicle and reached into the driver’s side door before officers shot him multiple times.

Blake was rushed to the hospital. He has paralysis from the waist down, family members and lawyers said.

The officers involved were placed on administrative leave and the matter is being probed by the Wisconsin Department of Justice.

Zachary Stieber
Zachary Stieber
Senior Reporter
Zachary Stieber is a senior reporter for The Epoch Times based in Maryland. He covers U.S. and world news. Contact Zachary at [email protected]
twitter
truth
Related Topics